For one: I totally forgot about the multiple alliances. And dangit we should've allied with the ogres! Ah well.
And yes! That's right. Kriger is chief of the Tiger Lords. I swear, out of sight out of mind. Anyway, THAT ought to come in handy.
Anyway, THAT ought to come in handy.
Ya think? The ogres were always out of the picture. No way Marcel was going to ally with them. If Kalsgrim was going to force it, those ogres would've died one by one...
Thaaaaat's right. And that's just now coming back to me as well. They were the ones eating the children. Okay, glad we didn't ally with those psychos.
Yes, Kriger's been selective about which psychos he allies with ;)
Yes, Kriger's been selective about which psychos he allies with ;)
Lol! Hey, you can't just go all willy-nilly when it comes to selecting which psychos you want to work with. You've got to be thorough about it and pick and choose them carefully. :)
@Kalsgrim: Well, the ones that are still alive that is. The dragon chased and/or killed most of them off. I've no idea where they ended up.
Their leader is alive, and some tribesfolk that we spoke to.
Yes, Kriger's been selective about which psychos he allies with ;)Lol! Hey, you can't just go all willy-nilly when it comes to selecting which psychos you want to work with. You've got to be thorough about it and pick and choose them carefully. :)
True enough, and I particularly like your 'child-eating' criteria. It's a simple test to deploy among potential allies ;)
<Checks if Kriger is listening>
<mumbles> I wish we were as selective about the psychos WE deal with...
True enough, and I particularly like your 'child-eating' criteria. It's a simple test to deploy among potential allies ;)
Lol! Well we can't make it to intensive. Okay, last question: Do you eat children? Yes? You do? Okay, well, I'm afraid that's not just going to cut it. Burning down homes and killing random people is one thing, but eating children I'm afraid is a no-go. Have a great day!" :P
<Checks if Kriger is listening>
<mumbles> I wish we were as selective about the psychos WE deal with...
Lol! Man that is just ALL kinds of wrong.
Question: What book are we in? Being level 13 I'd have to say Book 6? Either that or close to the end of Book 5. I've no idea how high KM goes in level.
I'm curious because I got to looking at how old this game is and OH MAN this game is old(Which, in turn, describes how *I* feel). :P
Did you know that this thing is pushing 11 years in April?! Man that's insane. I know we took a 3 year hiatus but it's still insane. :P
And markofbane and DW are the last of the original players. Man that's wildly awesome! Funny enough, I came in on this thing 7 months later. For some reason I thought it was 2011 and not 2010 when I rolled in on this one. That caught me by surprise.
My gosh where does the time go? Fast, that's where it goes. Really, really fast. :P
Wow! I lost track too. Thanks for the reminder :)
We're in book 5. The rest of the book can go many directions; some faster than others. Feel free in that regard. I have no expectations and will be happy if you guys are.
Let me know when you're ready to move on. Also, it might be that some options are perhaps requiring more planning and thinking than some of you would like. I'm fine with that, but I can't read your mind. I'm trying not to railroad things, but sometimes it's actually a good thing.
So let me know, let's keep talking. Basically, what I see is playing defense or offense. You have the means to do both.
This is pretty intense I gotta say. This is a MASSIVE scale of combat that I am unaccustomed to. I'm willing to roll however the others want to
roll though. If we can come up with a somewhat sound plan I say let's roll with it.
But to be flat honest I am NOT opposed to a bit of railroading. I've got no qualms in being pushed in the proper direction in any way, shape or form. :)
And when it comes "defense or offense"... well, me personally, I'm more of a defensive minded person and prefer that. Now Kriger on the other hand, he wants to jump right in the middle of death and dance with it. So I would recommend NOT listening to him, folks. Just sayin'. ;)
Sounds wise... But if he gets the big sword that is in his bag, THEN all will be just fiiiine!
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! No wait! What I meant was... that, ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.................. yeah I got nothing. Marcel is right. You guys really should have been more selective about the psychotic freaks people you pick up to be a part of the team. Sucks to be you guys! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! ;)
I didn't have a choice, Kriger was here first. And if it wasn't for him, Marcel wouldn't even be here.
I'm fine with some railroading here. Having run this AP, this can be a tough part for a group without military experience even with maps and such to plan over. Through pbp it's even tougher.
Other thoughts?
I could ask the goddess about the deal as well.
Yes, that's pending as well.
There are locations of interest in the kingdom that could be used as teleportation nodes. Oberlin would have to go and study them, but then they could be used to go back and forth, giving greater mobility.
We could let the boggarts know that the dragon was set on them by Irovetti so he could bring his army through, and they can take revenge by spoiling his supplies, killing his horses, and snatching away his scouts and guards in the middle of the night.
If we spend the money on the spell "scry" we would have that additional ability in our pocket, and would allow even more options for teleportation.
Good stuff, Oberlin. We should also figure out scry defense as well.
Going to be out of town until Monday, will be back online then.
I could ask the goddess about the deal as well.
Whatever this involves, if it helps then let's do it.
There are locations of interest in the kingdom that could be used as teleportation nodes. Oberlin would have to go and study them, but then they could be used to go back and forth, giving greater mobility.
I don't know what this is but if we can pull it off and it works in our favor, I say let's do it.
If we spend the money on the spell "scry" we would have that additional ability in our pocket, and would allow even more options for teleportation.
If we can afford it then let's do this too.
We have a lot of NPC diplomats that we can send to our allies. We shouldn't need to send PCs to the boggards, kobolds, etc. The only exception is the Tiger Lords; that clearly needs to be Kriger.
And Kriger will do this.
I think we should do all of the above. :)
"Hello?" *tap tap tap* "Is this thing on?" *clears throat* "Um, hello. My name is Javell and I'm an pbp-aholic. I was in this Kingmaker game once and everyone thought it would be funny by hiding from me. And, you know, it was not funny. At least, you know, I wasn't laughing. Although once you actually," he rocks his head from side to side in thought, "stop and think about it... I guess it is kinda funny," he chuckles horribly nervously.
Random other member looking somewhat cross: "Hey, loser! What are you freaking talking about?! What does 'pbp' even mean? You do know this is an anger management class, right?"
Javell: Looking blankly at the heckler(at least to him he's a heckler) and appearing quite nervous, Javell stretches his collar to help himself breathe a bit better as he finds it's quite hot within the room. *Tap tap tap* "Hello? I'm not sure if this thing is on. Is it... you know, on?"
Councilor: Rolling her eyes, "Yes, Javell, it is on."
Javell: "Good. That's good. Anyway, as I was saying...," he stops to consider what it was he was saying. "Wait, what was I saying before Random Other Member started to heckle me?"
Random other member: "My name is Chuck, psycho! Oh my gosh what is this guy's problem?! He's talking stupid! Does he even know who he is?! You know what, pal, you're really starting to...
Councilor: "Relax, Chuck! We need to relax, okay? Go through your exercises we've worked on please. This is a good learning experience." She then looks to Javell and glowers at him. "I don't suppose you're done, are you, Javell?" she asks, nodding emphatically that he is(or very well should be) done.
Javell: Thinking on that a moment - and completely oblivious to the councilor's obvious irritation - he eventually shakes his head. "No, uh, no. Not quite. What I was saying was, that, I was in this Kingmaker game and... well...,"
Random other member(who "claims" to be named Chuck) interrupts: "And what's this all about a 'Kingmaker game'?! Where do you come up with this mumbo jumbo garbage, you freak?! Is this guy for real?! Is this some kind of twisted JOKE?! Oh my gosh this guy is... he's freaking insane, councilor! And I mean certifiable!"
Councilor: Finding herself speechless as she can't help but bury her face in her hand.
Javell: Quickly interjecting in a very meek manner, "Councilor, could you please tell, um, Random Other Member to please, you know, be quiet. He's speaking out of turn. It's not his turn. It's, um, well it's my turn. So... if he would just, you know, be more quiet that would help, you know, me."
Random other member(still claiming his name is "Chuck" for some reason): "MY NAME IS CHUCK, YOU FREAKING IDIOT!!! And THIS is an ANGER. MANAGEMENT. Not some place where you go 'pbp'ing' - which you STILL have yet to explain - nor is it a place where YOU MAKE KINGS!!! What is that even about?! You know, I REALLY want to destroy YOUR FACE, pal!!! He rises, pulling up his sleeves.
Javell: Jumping back and looking extremely nervous before moving back up to the podium. "That's, you know, not very, um, I don't think that's the proper tone. Please, um, please have a seat because it is not your," stretches out his collar again, "your turn to speak. I'm pretty sure, you know, I've mentioned that... mentioned it already. It's actually still, you know, my turn. So if you would just be nice enough to, you know, have a seat, Random Other Member..."
Random other member(who for some reason takes offense to being called Random other member): Upon hearing that moniker once again, "Chuck" - if you will - takes off toward Javell just as he takes off out the door.
Councilor: Taking a deep breath, she looks to the rest of the class and smiles. "So, who's next?"
:)
Good point, and nicely made. How can I help?
Ha!
I think, honestly, I am a bit flummoxed by the whole military thing.
We have been hand-waving the kingdom and now we have to start driving this whole spaceship!
I’m waiting for someone else to tell me what to do.
Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I just got carried away and a had a bit of fun. Instead of accomplishing something constructive in RL, I decided to waste time blah blah blahing. I'm pretty sure I'm fairly mental(That's what my wife tells me anyway). :P
Well, the way I'm seeing it, if we really can't figure out how we want to accomplish this In Game, then I say we jump on the train and see where it takes us. I got no problem with jumping on the Amtrak. :)
I'm sorry. I do know what to do, but I don't have enough history about what we have to work with. When I ran this, my players had an army, plus alliances with the centaurs and the tiger Lords that they used. They stomped the army of Pitax pretty handily, leaving the exciting part for the PCs vs Irovetti.
That being said, I'll post up next steps so we can get moving.
Are there rules for developing an army? We probably need some sort of fighting force.
There are. The problem is the kingdom stuff was handwaved, and that is a part of kingdom development. The same goes for resources for things like border rangers, spys, etc.
You allocate resources (BPs, or Build Points) to your army. You can build it however you want. You can have ranged troops, mounted cavalry, caster forces, monster forces etc.
As I said above, my players had three forces: a barbarian horde, a centaur fast flanking force, and the main army from Oz (yes, that was the kingdom name). Each had a stat sheet and we played out several battles.
In my mind, OM may want to handwave the army battle thing based on our general actions, and move to the specific actions we do as PCs.
Let me see if I can summarize options a bit and then I'll ask you to let me know where your preferences point.
The way I see it, you have two broad options:
1. Take the offensive.
If you go this route, you're attacking Irovetti before he attacks you. There are two major options:
1a. Attack his armies: you will have to get your armies together (more on that later) and locate his. We can use some version of the rules provided for armies.
1b. Attack the King: you go for Irovetti directly, no armies, 'mano a mano.'
2. Wait for Irovetti.
If you go this route, you're waiting for Irovetti to make the first move. In this case, you would focus on building up your defenses, build your armies, find political allies, undermine Irovetti's political alliances. If (once?) Irovetti attacks, then you react with what you have, based on what he does.
From what I have read, it seems that 1b. and 2. are the most favoured options.
From a technical standpoint, 1b. is the most straightforward, as it forego the war part. I have no issue with that.
About your army.
You would need to make sure your alliances are still holding and then field thos earmies. Your list of options include: your own kingdom, the Sootscale Kobolds, the Centaurs, the Tiger Lords, the Boggards (let me know if I'm forgetting something).
You also have a brunch with the Sczarni to work out, but it's best if you decide what option you wish to pursue.
I would ask that each of you let us know whether you have strong preferences for any of these options. We can then see which way the wind seems to be blowing and decide.
Let me know if I'm forgetting some option or if you would prefer we do things differently.
Just to be clear, all of what I said doesn't invalidate what Marcel has said IC. It's just that deciding between options will help figure out what will be in the foreground and what will be in the background.
For example, should you decide to attack Irovetti in person, then my guess is that the war preparations would still start and be ongoing.
I like 2. Let's go with 2.
I was angling for 2.
Followed by a 1c which is attack his army's leadership, THEN 1b.
I would go with that. It seems to suit our characters as well.
I wil spend 13 hours each day rocking perceive betrayal but it might not help against assassins if they have protected their minds. In any case, Malaswyn will cast the spell mid-morning and have it up for the rest of the day.
I use prognostication to ask if the Szcarni choice of ruler would also be a good one for us.
I cast Ancestral memory for some advice on how to position our forces. If it succeeds, the GM gives us some useful advice.
I cast Sending to drop messages to allies: kobolds, centaurs, boggards and anyone else. We can send NPC diplomats as well but this should speed them along. Something about readying forces and defending the land.
I can roll diplomacy if needed.
Current commune questions I have in mind (need to be yes/no):
1. Does Irovetti plan to attack within the next ten days?
2-6. Will he position forces in (strategic locations on the map, I will set aside five questions for this, to cover the five key areas of our border)?
7. Will the dragon or its mistress involve itself in this conflict?
8-10. Will X, Y and Z fight beside Irovetti's forces against us? (choosing the three strongest possible allies he might have that we know of).
That leaves three questions: anyone got any suggestions?
Malaswyn will follow up, after his wall of spellcasting in the morning, by going to fetch the children.
I think he should whisk them to the capital and then send them to 'civilisation' (Brevoy?) so that they are out of the fighting. Any alternative ideas?
Good stuff, Mal! Run with it!
For commune, can anyone suggest which five key areas to ask about? This might be one for people who have been in the group from the earliest days: Kriger or Kalsgrim?
Similarly, for 8-10, I was going to take my ideas from the people we met at Irovetti's tourney but if anyone has any other ideas, let me know?
Yes. I got a question. Where are the Tiger Lords? (I know, I know, that's no good).
As far as key areas... heck I don't know. I like the 8-10 questions you got planned. Stick with those.
You know - back to the key areas that is - maybe you roll with the hexes directly around/next to the kingdom? We could always ask about those. Outside of that I'm not sure what other areas are deemed more important than the others.
And if you've got Sending, then, Kriger could use that. Probably best we do that and then say Kriger left. I was figuring they would be difficult to find.
Totally down with 2 as the primary focus.
Also, seriously, what wonderous items do you guys need/want?
Let's deal with the Sczarni, then we can go day by day with what you plan on doing.
Yeah that's a good idea. Too much at one time can be... well... too much. :P
Now we're rollin'!
That went waaaay to well.
So can we get a loan? Do we want to pool money?
I could also retcon away my ring of spell storing, which I have never used for 50,000 and just grab more spells...
Thoughts?
Man you could grab an army of spells for that. Yeah if you're not using the ring you might as well pile on the spells. The more the merrier.